Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. In an information server system comprising a network with at least one information server accessed by a plurality of either client systems or proxy servers, each proxy server in turn accessed by a plurality of client systems, and wherein at least some of said proxy servers are non-tracking proxy servers and the other proxy servers are tracking proxy servers, and at least some of the client systems are non-tracking client systems and the other client systems are tracking client systems, a method for tracking at one or more client systems session events resulting from information supplied by the information server in response to requests for information from at least one of the client systems or one of the proxy servers, while maintaining system compatibility with those client systems or proxy servers that do not have tracking ability, the method for tracking comprising the steps of: initiating, by at least one client system or proxy server, a connection request to an information server system, said connection request also signifying whether said client system or proxy server is non-tracking or is capable of tracking given session events; in response to said connection request, returning to said requesting client system or requesting proxy server (i) information requested, (ii) an acknowledgment by said information server system which enables said requesting client system or requesting proxy server to begin tracking said session events if the requesting client system or requesting proxy server is capable of tracking such session events, and (iii) a location of a designated server for receiving tracked session event; in response to said acknowledgment, if said requesting client system or requesting proxy server is a tracking client system, monitoring said session events and generating a client side usage log of the monitored session events, and if said requesting client system or requesting proxy server is non-tracking, then generating a usage log of the monitored session events at the information server system; and thereafter transmitting the usage log that is generated either at the requesting client system or requesting proxy server, or at the information server, to said designated server.
2. A method for tracking as recited in claim 1 wherein the generated usage log is transmitted after the client system has been inactive a fixed amount of time with respect to said information server.
3. A method for tracking as recited in claim 1 wherein the generated usage log is transmitted after the client system has accessed a set number of objects or files.
4. A method for tracking as recited in claim 1 wherein the generated usage log is transmitted after the client system attempts connection to a different information server system.
5. A method for tracking as recited in claim 1 wherein the generated usage log includes information regarding a referring link where the client system previously accessed objects or files.
6. A method for tracking as recited in claim 1 wherein the generated usage log includes information regarding treatment of image data associated with a particular link.
7. A method for tracking as recited in claim 1 wherein the generated usage log includes information regarding a percentage amount processed by the client system of a particular object or file.
8. A method for tracking as recited in claim 1 wherein the generated usage log includes information regarding amount of time spent by the client system in accessing a particular object or file.
9. In an information server system comprising a network with at least one information server accessed by a plurality of either client systems or proxy servers, each proxy server in turn accessed by a plurality of client systems, and wherein at least some of said proxy servers are non-tracking proxy servers and the other proxy servers are tracking proxy servers, and at least some of the client systems are non-tracking client systems and the other client systems are tracking client systems, and wherein tracking is desired for one or more client systems session events resulting from information supplied by the information server in response to requests for information from at least one of the client systems or one of the proxy servers, while maintaining system compatibility with those client systems or proxy servers that do no have tracking ability, a computer program product comprising: a computer readable medium associated with one or more client systems at which the tracking of session events is desired; and computer program code means stored on said computer readable medium, said computer program code means comprising means for performing the desired tracking of said session events comprising: code means for initiating, by at least one client system, a connection request to an information server system, said connection request also signifying whether said requesting client system is a non-tracking or a tracking client system that is capable of tracking given session events; code means for receiving an acknowledgment from said information server system in response to said connection request which (i) enables said requesting client system to begin tracking said session events if the requesting client system is a tracking client system, and (ii) identifies a designated server for receiving tracked session events; code means for monitoring said session events and generating a client side usage log of the monitored session events if the client system is a tracking client system, and for causing the information server to generate a usage log if the client system is a non-tracking client system; and code means for transmitting the client side usage log to said designated server after a session is complete.
10. In an information server system comprising a network with at least one information server accessed by a plurality of either client systems or proxy servers, each proxy server in turn accessed by a plurality of client systems, and wherein at least some of said proxy servers are non-tracking proxy servers and the other proxy servers are tracking proxy servers, and at least some of the client systems are non-tracking client systems and the other client systems are tracking client systems, and wherein tracking is desired for one or more client systems session events resulting from information supplied by the information server in response to requests for information from at least one of the client systems or one of the proxy servers, while maintaining system compatibility with those client systems or proxy servers that do not have tracking ability, a computer program product comprising: a computer readable medium associated with the at least one information server; and computer program code means stored on said computer readable medium, said computer program code means comprising means for enabling the desired tracking of said session events comprising: code means for receiving from at least one client system or from at least one proxy server a connection request, said connection request also signifying whether said requesting client system or requesting proxy server is non-tracking or is capable of tracking given session events; and code means for initiating an acknowledgment by said information server system in response to said information request which (i) enables said requesting client system or said requesting proxy server to begin tracking said session events if the requesting client system or requesting proxy server has tracking capability, and (ii) identifies a designated server for receiving tracked session events from said requesting client system or requesting proxy server after they have been monitored by the requesting client system or requesting proxy server and stored in a client side usage log.
11. A computer program product as recited in claim 9 or 10 wherein the information server system and the designated server are the same.
12. A computer program product as recited in claim 9 or 10 wherein the generated usage log is transmitted after the client system has accessed a set number of objects or files.
13. A computer program product as recited in claim 9 or 10 wherein the generated usage log is transmitted after the client system has been inactive a fixed amount of time with respect to the information server system.
14. A computer program product as recited in claim 9 or 10 wherein the generated usage log is transmitted after the client system attempts connection to a different information server system.
15. A computer program product as recited in claim 9 or 10 wherein the generated usage log includes information regarding a referring link where the client system previously accessed objects or files.
16. A computer program product as recited in claim 9 or 10 wherein the generated usage log includes information regarding treatment of image data associated with a particular link.
17. A computer program product as recited in claim 1 or 9 wherein the generated usage log includes information regarding a percentage amount processed by the client system of a particular object or file.
18. A computer program product as recited in claim 9 or 10 wherein the generated usage log includes information regarding the amount of time spent by the client system in accessing a particular object or file.
19. An information server system comprising: a network with at least one information server accessed by a plurality of either client systems or proxy servers, each proxy server in turn accessed by a plurality of client systems wherein at least some of said proxy servers are non-tracking proxy servers and the other proxy servers are tracking proxy servers, and at least some of the client systems are non-tracking client systems and the other client systems are tracking client systems; as a first article of manufacture, a first computer readable medium stored on said information server, said first computer readable medium comprising first program code means stored thereon; as a second article of manufacture, a second computer readable medium stored on at least one of said proxy servers or one of said client systems, said second computer readable medium comprising second program code means stored thereon; and said first and second computer program means together providing a system for tracking at one or more of the tracking client systems or at one or more of the tracking proxy servers, session events resulting from information supplied by the information server in response to requests for information from at least one of the client systems or proxy servers, while maintaining system compatibility with other non-tracking client systems or proxy servers that do not have such tracking ability, the system comprising: code means for initiating, by at least one client system or proxy server, a connection request to an information server system, said connection request also signifying said client system's or said proxy server's ability to track given session events; code means for returning to said requesting client system or proxy server in response to said connection request (i) information requested, (ii) an acknowledgment by said information server system which enables said requesting client system or proxy server to begin tracking said session events when they are capable of doing so, and (iii) a location of a designated server for receiving tracked session events; code means for monitoring, by said requesting client system or said requesting proxy server, said session events and generating a client side usage log of the monitored session events when the requesting client system or proxy server have tracking ability, and for causing the information server to generate a usage log of the monitored session events when the requesting client system or proxy server to not having tracking ability; and code means for transmitting the either the client side usage log or the usage log generated by the information server, as applicable, to said designated server after a session is complete.
20. A system as recited in claim 19 wherein the information server system and the designated server are the same.
21. A system as recited in claim 19 wherein the generated usage log is transmitted after the client system has accessed a set number of objects or files.
22. A system as recited in claim 19 wherein the generated usage log is transmitted after the client system has been inactive a fixed amount with respect to the information server.
23. A system as recited in claim 19 wherein the generated usage log is transmitted after the client system attempts connection to a different information server.
24. A system as recited in claim 19 wherein the generated usage log includes information regarding a referring link where the client system previously accessed objects or files.
25. A system as recited in claim 19 wherein the generated usage log includes information regarding treatment of image data associated with a particular link.
26. A system as recited in claim 19 wherein the generated usage log includes information regarding a percentage amount processed by the client system of a particular object or file.
27. A system as recited in claim 19 wherein the generated usage log includes information regarding the amount of time spent by the client system in accessing a particular object or file.
Complete technical specification and implementation details from the patent document.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
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Unknown
January 25, 2000
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